On Wednesday night, Osasuna hosts Athletic Bilbao at the El Sadar in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals.
The team from Pamplona ended a recent six-game winless run in all competitions by recording a 3-2 win at Sevilla last time out. The victory moved the home side to within a point of La Liga’s top six and the European spots.
¡A por el último entrenamiento antes de lo de mañana!#OsasunaAthletic | #CopaDelRey | #GrandesEnIlusión pic.twitter.com/r3sDZFF2vy— C. A. OSASUNA (@Osasuna) February 28, 2023
¡A por el último entrenamiento antes de lo de mañana!#OsasunaAthletic | #CopaDelRey | #GrandesEnIlusión pic.twitter.com/r3sDZFF2vy
The game ended a run of low-scoring games for Osasuna, as their previous ten matches had all produced under 2.5 goals over 90 minutes.
When it comes to the Copa del Rey, although Osasuna are unbeaten in their previous five games in the competition, they have needed extra time to see off Gimnastic Tarragona and Sevilla, as well as a penalty shootout to beat Real Betis.
Osasuna has failed to win any of their last four Copa del Rey matches on home soil over 90 minutes, claiming two extra-time victories and suffering two defeats.
Similarly to their opponents, Athletic are top-six hopefuls. However, the boys from Bilbao’s European hopes have been dealt a couple of blows of late, as the Basque giants head into this clash on the back of two straight defeats against Atletico Madrid and Girona.
Los Leones are still just two points from La Liga’s top six, so they are right in the mix for a place in Europe for next season.
Athletic’s recent form in the Copa del Rey has been good, with their path to the last four has been slightly smoother than Osasuna’s, as Ernesto Valverde’s team has recorded five straight victories in the competition.
The visitors also have a stellar recent away record in the Copa del Rey, winning five of their previous six matches on their travels in the competition.
Forebet predicts that these two teams will play out a close and low-scoring encounter, leaving the tie finely balanced for the second leg.